Named for the sacred, otherworldly power of the jaguar in Mayan lore, this Mexican four-piece inadvertently proves that commercial forces have completely co-opted indie-rock vocabulary. After years of indie bands flirting with pop here in the States, it was only a matter of time before someone took it to another…
Cut Copy and Hercules & Love Affair have been burning up dorm-room dance floors. Then there’s the rise of the more richly histrionic LCD Soundsystem, not to mention the textured Burial and grotesquely distorted Justice. It all makes Omaha quintet The Faint’s simpler mind-meld of angst and beats seem more…
Although this 78-year-old Chicago transplant has not made many recordings under his own name for more than a decade, eclectic multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan needs little introduction. A legendary figure in his hometown up North, he made a name for himself there in the mid-Fifties as he performed with the likes…
No jam band worth its salt ever repeats a set list, and this is a rule that these Georgia Music Hall of Famers take close to their hearts. Never in the 22 years since Widespread Panic’s inception have the bandmates performed a duplicate concert, painstakingly going through their canon of…
Efforts to persuade young Spanish national Lorena Villar to accompany New Times on a modern Cuban music adventure are met with some resistance. She listens to indie pop, not salsa, and she has always preferred mop tops to dreadlocks. But on a recent evening at Little Havana’s KimbaraCumbara nightclub, the…
Even when Deejay Smeejay is sitting, it’s not at all difficult to imagine him being a go-go boy, despite the fact that he has probably not, er, bar-topped for a decade or so. I mean, the cat literally dances in his seat. And in the rare instance when his body…
Legend has it that during Ronald Reagan’s first run for president, his wife Nancy suggested he use Bruce Springsteen’s popular anthem “Born in the U.S.A.” as a campaign song, maybe to siphon off the youth vote. So Nancy arranged for a backstage visit following one of Springsteen’s shows. As they…
The good-natured 53-year-old Bruce Hornsby is a musician who wears many hats. Only last year, he teamed up with mandolinist Ricky Scaggs to record what became a much-acclaimed bluegrass disc, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby. That CD included several traditional tunes, a handful of original compositions, and a surprising cover…
The title of Gloria Estefan’s latest album, 90 Millas (90 Miles), alludes to the physical distance between her native Cuba and the United States. It’s no surprise, then, that lyrically she continues her peaceful activism in favor of democracy on the island nation. These include beautiful ballads such as “Cuando…
At this very moment, in a dorm room far, far away, the MGM lion is roaring for the third time just as some guy named Alec presses play on his Panasonic CD boombox, ushering in the confusing opening silence of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon over the black-and-white…
Everyone rejoice! The loud continuous thump of the bass all over Miami is only a few months away. Yes, every March the dance music community congregates in Miami for Winter Music Conference, bringing with it superstar DJs and parties galore. But it’s easy to forget that despite all the debauchery…
Treasure Fingers: the man with the magic fingers. Tonight, Fool’s Gold Records invades White Room to celebrate the release of its two-disc Scion A/V compilation Fool’s Gold Remixed. Last time the Fool’s Gold DJs — Nick Catchdubs, Nacho Lovers, Treasure Fingers and Jokers Of The Scene — gave the decks…
Stuntin Like My Daddy – Birdman & Lil Wayne So Lil Wayne is back in the news today (as if he ever leaves) and it’s related to his arrest last year on gun charges in Manhattan. Last July, the rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, was arrested and charged…
Tiffany Rainey MIA Skatepark’s Matt Cantor quizzing some kids on their multiplication tables (seriously). DJ Z-Trip at the Habitat Skateboard Demo Saturday, October 8, 2008 MIA Skatepark, Doral Better Than: Lurking on Lincoln Road Z-Trip who? Though sponsor Fuji Film probably shelled out a pretty penny to get the King…
Sayre Berman Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express rocked the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre Saturday night. Click here to view the full slideshow. Meat Loaf Saturday, October 18, 2008 Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, Pompano Beach Better Than: Mashed Potatoes If you believe rocker Meat Loaf’s songs and his stage antics, the guy…
Early this morning, Opa-Locka-based rapper Toro, was shot and killed in Miami. The artist, whose real name is Derek Johnson, 23, was killed in a drive-by shooting while leaving Coco’s Strip Club at around 4 am. Toro, who was signed to Iconz Music, was a popular local rapper that didn’t…
Tony Vargas Our cameras stopped by Set last night to scope out the scene. What did we find? Plenty of beautiful people there to catch San Francisco DJ Miguel Migs. Click here to view the full slideshow…
Dolly Parton October 17, 2008 Mizner Park Amphitheatre, Boca Raton Better Than: Any faith healer I’ve ever met. There’s a very simple reason why Dolly Parton’s something of a phenomena, and that has to do with the fact that she’s absolutely phenomenal! Think about it. The great dame’s “highly extraordinary,…
To younger, casual consumers of Miami’s downtown nightlife, Alex Del Bueno was the lord of the Vagabond door, the no-bullshit sentry who guarded the final entrance to the club’s inner sanctum. But to a much, much wider swath of the local music scene, however, Del Bueno was a fiercely loyal,…
Dwayne Nelson The Hip-Hop Live Tour Featuring: B.O.B., David Banner, Talib Kweli Thursday, October 16, 2008 Revolution, Fort Lauderdale Better than: MP3s, CD’s and DAT Machines Last night’s hip-hop buffet at Revolution offered fans a lot of quality “elements” to enjoy. There was b-boying, beatboxing, MCing, DJing, and if only…
We feel it. It’s going to to be one of those weekends — you know, the ones where you see the sunrise every night. Why? Because there is so much to do this weekend that we had a hard time condensing it to this list. Tonight, all the way from…
I wrote about shimmering local quartet Astari Nite — and its charismatic frontman, Mychael Ghost — recently for the Miami New Times, when the band was set to play its own occasional Static Interference event at PS14. While these usually happen once a month, on a Saturday at PS14, the…
